Hartford Business Journal

14 Hartford Business Journal • August 22, 2016 www.HartfordBusiness.com #CTEconomy O ur annual fall economic event looks at the state's economy both in terms of how it influences and is shaped by global events, workforce and education trends, and developments at the State Capitol. Patricia Abaroa, chief of the Direct Investment Division at the Bureau of Economic Analysis, delivers the latest statistics on value added, employment, exports and imports, and R&D of majority-owned U.S. affiliates of FMEs and tells the stories behind the numbers. We'll also release results of the 2016 Survey of Connecticut Businesses, which takes the temperature of the state's business climate, and we'll introduce a panel that examines what Connecticut looks like from the view of those entering the workforce and housing markets. 860.244.1977 cbia.com registrar@cbia.com @CBIANews SCAN TO REGISTER! WHEN & WHERE 9.9.16 Check-in & networking breakfast buffet: 7 am Program: 8:15–noon Marriott Hartford Downtown 200 Columbus Blvd., Hartford PRICE CBIA & HABE members . . $95 Nonmembers . . . . . . . . . . . $115 Table of 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . $850 from page 1 Wealthier grand list is 'end game' William Carroll, business development coordinator for the New Britain Chamber of Commerce, says total investment in rehabili- tating various downtown buildings, including creating a new home for a dialysis-treatment clinic, beautification infrastructure and other pending projects, will approach $100 million within the next five years. "We haven't seen growth like this since probably before my parents were born,'' said Mayor Erin Stewart, scion of ex-Mayor Timo- thy Stewart. Indeed, since CTfastrak debuted its downtown New Britain terminal in March 2015, at least a half dozen redevelopment projects have been announced or com- pleted in downtown. The city, too, is work- ing through a multi-phase, master-planned scheme to improve its streetscapes and other infrastructure. "People want to invest in cities that are investing in themselves. And we're certainly doing that,'' Erin Stewart said. That's exactly what the state envisioned from the publicly funded $567 million bus- way, said state Department of Transportation Commissioner James P. Redeker, a staunch advocate of transit-oriented development. "When you get economic development that's driven by the private sector, that's a real win,'' Redeker said. The newest private redevelopment down- town is 1 Herald Square, the New Britain Herald's former home, set for formal dedica- tion in a few weeks. The reconstituted property, blocks from the city's new police station, houses a soon-to-open dialy- sis-treatment center in about a third of its 31,000 square feet. The city has also chosen a New York City developer to con- vert its former police station site on Colum- bus Boulevard into a $58 million mixed-use development, Columbus Commons. On top of that, New Britain has found buyers for a pair of vacant, blighted buildings that will be restored as apartments and office space. Cromwell investor William Coons Jr. says New Britain's eagerness to remake and revitalize its central core, plus the location of the CTfastrak terminal, drew him and his company, Opportunity Real Estate Equities (OREE), to the city. OREE owns and redevel- oped the 1 Herald Square property. "We feel New Britain is a city that recog- nizes that development is good for their city,'' Coons said. The city-OREE relationship blossomed such that, even before the 1 Herald Square conversion was com- plete, OREE inquired about other city prop- erties available for redevelopment. Just so happens, the city had two, Car- roll said. OREE agreed to pay the city $25,000 for one, a dilapidated structure known as The Hatch Building on Washington Street. The new owner's plan is to remediate the former insurance- company and cham- ber of commerce office building into retail and office space. "The interest is a true display,'' said Carroll, "of New Britain being proactive in working with our developers by providing seamless continuity in moving these projects forward. Our end result being enhancing our tax base, providing jobs, residences and beautification.'' Hartford nonprofit Chrysalis Center Inc. is buying another of the city's derelict properties, a vacant apartment building on Court Street, just blocks from the CTfastrak terminal, which it will rehabilitate into 24 units of market-rat- ing housing — four reserved for veterans — called Courtland Arms. Chrysalis will pay $48,000 for the building and buy a vacant lot next door for parking — a relative bargain considering the building is full of mold, asbestos and lead paint that will cost thousands more to abate, said Chrysalis CEO Sharon Castelli. Still, the site fits Chrysalis' mission of social services and affordable housing, Castelli. "We love the idea that it's downtown, on the new busway,'' she said. "It will allow indi- viduals and families that live there to get into Hartford to work, or to other places along the [busway route]." More downtown development is coming. In July, the city chose developer POKO Inc. to rei- magine its former downtown police station site into 168 apartments and retail and office space at Columbus Commons. "It's a downtown, walkable lifestyle for the project that we're proposing,'' said POKO Managing Director Andrea Kretchmer. New Britain's bid invitation to developers was key to POKO's involvement, she said. "That means they're welcoming develop- ment," Kretchmer said. "It's not our focus to try to convince cities about something they need.'' Feet on the street New Britain, with its mayor leading the charge, has clearly signaled its willingness to accommodate development, developers say. They say they have regular contact with either Erin Stewart or her chief of staff, along with key officials in the city's planning and Hartford nonprofit Chrysalis Center Inc. plans to renovate this vacant Court Street apartment building. H B J P H O T O | G R E G O R Y S E A Y

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